Who will make NBA conference finals?

You don't follow the bouncing ball any more in the NBA; you follow the bouncing stars.

Free-agentpalooza, with the A-listers calling the shots, has produced instant contenders and revived the dead.

We give you the Heat and the Clippers. The Heat's Big Three will join the Bulls in the East finals, and the Mavericks and Clippers will meet in the West finals.

Yes, the Clippers.

David Stern's decision to send Chris Paul to the other L.A. team has turned the West on its ear. By the end of the season, the once-downtrodden Clips will pass the Lakers. Look for them to upset the Thunder to reach the conference finals.

This is boring: The same four teams — Bulls vs. Heat, Thunder vs. Mavericks — will meet in the conference finals.

At least the basketball will be anything but boring. In this odd, compressed season, continuity will be as important as talent. And, yes, the Mavericks underwent some changes. But the core of the team remains pretty much intact and few teams will match their depth and shooting ability. The Thunder remain virtually the same. The Bulls added Richard Hamilton. The Heat added Shane Battier. Those moves just made deep teams even deeper.

So in the end, it's those same four teams. We'll save the Finals predictions for another time.